1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cans for beer and beverages which include promotional games and in particular to cans having promotional prize games or instant winner games on them.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Marketing of consumer products such as foods, beverages, household products and the like is highly competitive, and many millions of dollars are spent annually in advertising and promoting the sale of such products. Most such products are sold in cans, boxes and bottles which are decorated to promote the sale of the products.
Beverages such as beer and soft drinks are sold in cans and bottles, and competition between manufacturers of aluminum, steel, glass and plastic for use in beverage containers is intense due to the many billions of beverage containers that are sold annually. The aluminum beverage can industry would benefit from an increased share of the beverage market by making aluminum cans more interesting and appealing to consumers.
Due to the competitive pressures, games for promoting the sale of products are commonly used. The games induce customers to purchase a particular product because the product includes an opportunity to win a prize or money. One popular retail game device is the "Instant Winner" type in which the customer immediately knows whether he or she is a winner. Such winners can be rewarded at the point of sale or can receive their prize or money by returning the winning gamepieces to a redemption center.
The term "scratch-off games" commonly refers to a promotion, game, lottery, discount coupon, or the like that relies on hidden preprinted data that is revealed by "scratching off" a removable opaque layer. The appeal of such applications is evidenced by the popularity of state lotteries, which have become a major fund raising source in recent years. The "game" can be as simple as revealing a statement of winning or losing status.
The major attribute of existing scratch-off technology is its potential for providing secure preprinted data that is difficult or impossible to reveal prematurely. This technology is most often seen in contexts such as lotteries, product promotions, and discount coupons, as well as financial security instruments or food stamp certificates.
Security of the hidden data has been a primary consideration for the development of the technology behind scratch-off games. The following are nondestructive methods for prematurely reading hidden data which are protected against by current technology:
Candling: this method uses a strong light shown through the front of the ticket. PA1 Delaminating and relaminating. PA1 X-ray technologies. PA1 "Wet pad" techniques: these endeavor to accelerate ink migration by application of a pad wetted with water or another solvent to the rear side of the ticket. When successful, a readable image of the game play data can be transferred to the pad without residual evidence of tampering.
When scratch-off games are printed on paper or cardboard substrates, several security measures are usually combined, such as printing a Benday pattern (usually curved lines that discourage pasting a portion of one ticket into another), printing an optical confusion pattern, and printing thematic graphics over the scratch-off area.
It is desirable for the scratch-off games to be integral with the package for the products in order to avoid handling problems or abuses as can occur if the promotional game is separate from the package. Thus many promotional marketing games involve coupons or tickets which are attached to or contained in packages for the goods being sold.
Soft drink bottlers have used promotional games extensively and have experienced considerable marketing success through the use of the games. Several of the promotional game packages for beverages have been patented. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,911,320; 5,056,659; 5,056,681; and 5,524,788.
Despite the success of existing promotional games for a variety of products including beverage containers, improved systems are desired which are less expensive to manufacture and administer, offer improved security against tampering, and offer greater attractiveness to consumers. It is also desirable to provide a promotional game which increases the interaction between the consumer and the beverage can in order to increase the attractiveness of metal cans and encourage bottlers to package their beverages in cans, and in particular in aluminum cans.